Rebound
by rapunzelleee
Summary: Set before the events of the anime and manga. Kaneki and Hide find themselves in Purgatory after a ghoul attack. But no fear, they can get out alive, by completing three formidable challenges. As you can imagine, sounds like fun.
1. Friend

Chapter One – Friend

Ken Kaneki ran. His sneakers hit the roads of Tokyo. He dodged cars and bounced over zebra crossings – white, black, white, black. His bag hit his legs as he ran. Quickly, swiftly. He checked his watch – 11:01 PM. Dear God, this was it. He was too late. Too late for pizza night.

It had become a habit, every Friday at 11:00 PM exactly, he and Hide ordered pizza and watched a movie. It was like a tradition. A celebration almost – 'You made it through the week and now you get to pig out on pizza and nachos'. Sometimes they watched an action movie, sometimes sci-fi, sometimes even a romance, if they were feeling particularly sentimental. It was a fun time. And now he was late.

Hide wasn't going to be happy, that was for sure. He wasn't ever a stickler for rules – except, of course, when his pizza had the chance of getting cold. Kaneki imagined the scene. He would get home, tired, sweating, out of breath. Hide would be sat, cross-legged, on the sofa, a look of disgust on his face. Beer can in his hand, he would say: "You know, no pizza ever deserves to go cold. They need to be eaten at their prime."

"You could have eaten without me." Kaneki would say, removing the movies he had purchased from the bag he was holding. It was Pacific Rim tonight.

"Hey, if I eat pizza alone, I can't tell anyone how good it is."

It was always the same. Kaneki would return late and Hide would make it known that the pizza had been ruined. It wasn't his fault his classes didn't finish on time.

He stopped. He had reached his apartment building. Now the question, stairs or elevator? The stairs were a tiring option, one that meant pissing of Hide even more. Elevator it was. He pressed the button and waited. As he listened to the clunk as it travelled down through the floors, he contemplated the strangeness of relying on an inanimate metal contraption to take you up and down buildings. One fault in the machine could result in death. Perhaps he should have taken the stairs.

He stepped into the elevator and shivered. He had just ran a mile at top speed and he still somehow felt cold. His stomach tensed. Something felt wrong. It was too icy, too quiet. As he travelled upwards his palms began to sweat. He swallowed and shook his head. It was just a feeling. Besides, when had his paranoid intuition ever proven correct?

The elevator stopped. 7th floor. Apartment number 14. Kaneki lifted his hand to knock, then hesitated. The door was open – just a crack, but open. Leaving your front door open was not a wise idea. Not that the part of the city he lived in wasn't nice, but if you left your door open, expect to see your valuables gone.

The lights were off and the air smelt stale. No scent of cold pizza greeted him. His footsteps echoed eerily. Something was off. Something was wrong.

"Hide," Kaneki couldn't hide the tremor in his voice. "I got the film. Are we going to watch it, or not?" His hand reached out in the darkness. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his key. If a perpetrator really was in here he would have to get in close proximity to make a flesh wound. But, as he gripped the key in his shaking fist, he felt braver – safer somehow.

"Hide, are you okay?" Kaneki's eyes flitted around him. There was no light. It was completely silent. He advanced, but only slightly. Something seemed to be pulling him back. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe Hide had simply left to get more beer, and had accidentally left the door open. Maybe Hide was sleeping, and had left the door open for Kaneki to enter. Maybe –

There was a crash. It echoed through the quiet apartment. Kaneki's eyes widened in terror. And he ran. There he was, running again. Only this time his footsteps were frantic. He dashed into the room where the sound had occurred. The kitchen. Holding his key tightly in his hand Kaneki stood broadly in the door way.

"Hide!" There was his friend, tied to a chair, barely conscious. His friend, bleeding from a wound in his neck. His friend, eyelids half closed, face grey and pale. The key dug into Kaneki's hand. His breathing became shaky and his fists closed tightly.

"Ah," A female voice broke the silence. A shadow shifted, and in a flash there stood a women, a hand on Hide's shoulder. "Kaneki, I presume."

"How do you know my name?" Kaneki could feel himself shaking, but tried to stand taller. The woman was tall. A pretty face, with a beautiful figure. A pair of glasses splattered with blood. A white dress stained red.

"Your friend told me." The woman moved towards him. "He certainly seemed very eager to get your attention, he's been screaming your name for the past half-hour. It takes a lot to shut him up." She moved again, making no sound. She was so elegant, like a cat poised to catch it's prey. "My name is Rize."

Rize. He knew that name. He knew that face. Rize Kamishiro, the girl at the coffee shop. Kaneki saw her sometimes. She sat alone, drinking coffee, looking pretty. He'd wanted to sit down with her one day, get to know her. He shuddered, he was glad he was too nervous for that.

"Your friend is losing blood." Rize moved fast. She examined the wound on Hide's neck. It looked disturbingly like a bite mark. "All the good bits will go off. We've been here for a while, awaiting your arrival. You're late for the pizza party. We were going to eat together."

Kaneki blinked. She couldn't mean… No, that was stupid. He shouldn't jump to conclusions.

"Well, I'd better finish my meal. I don't want it to go cold."

That's when things started to take a downward spiral. Things were bad already, but this was so much worse. Kaneki had heard lots of stories about Ghouls. They hunted at night, ate human flesh, human organs, human everything. Walking around Tokyo was supposed to be a death wish. Kaneki had never seen one, until now – check that off the bucket list.

Seeing a Ghoul in person wasn't a great experience. Rize lifted her head back and opened her mouth – wide. Kaneki shoulder's tensed as she dislocated her jaw. Was she laughing? She was. Her body shook as red tendrils unfurled from her back – Kagune, he'd heard people mention them before.

Rize stopped shaking and paused. "Bon appétit."

Suddenly, something took over Kaneki's mind. It was like an anger, a blind fury that made him see red. Key still grasped in his hand, he sprinted to the woman and barrelled into her chest. As his head hit her ribcage he felt a crack. He hadn't expected her chest to be so hard; did this girl have steel instead of bones? The force of the collision caused him to fall back. As he hit the floor, he blacked out momentarily.

"Hee, hee, hee…" Rize stood over him, cackling, like a witch. She did look like a witch. Long purple hair, ragged clothes, bloodshot eyes – no warts on the end of her nose, that was an upside. "You are quite stupid, you know that?"

And then Kaneki was flying.

He didn't know why he was flying. His best guess was that Rize had hurled him away. He had always wondered what it would be like to fly. It wasn't overly pleasant, to be completely honest. His head swam and he could feel his eyes roll back into his head. As he hit the wall his neck snapped. That was him dead, or at least paralysed for the remainder of his life. Was she finished yet? Apparently not.

Rize walked with a lilt in her step. With a crazed smile plastered on her face she lifted Kaneki's head causing pain to shoot down his spine like a billion tiny needles. "You ruined my main course, I'll just have to skip to dessert."

Kaneki didn't entirely know what happened next. It was blur of pain, screaming, and maniacal laughter. Rize brought her head back and plunged it into his stomach. It was painful at first, excruciating; but, with each bite – as each chunk of his flesh was torn from his body – the world began to turn hazy. His screams eventually died down and he faintly recognised Hide's voice calling his name. Slowly his vision turned to black.

**Thanks for reading everyone! I hope you all enjoyed! **

**rapunzelleee xxx**


	2. Waiting Room

Chapter 2 – Waiting Room

Pain. That was all Kaneki felt. He couldn't move, he couldn't see, he couldn't breathe. He just had to hold on – that was all. It wasn't easy, but ever so slightly the pain began to fade.

The first thing Kaneki saw when he awoke was the ceiling. It was rusty. Pipes and wires hung, exposed, from beams. There was mould and a sour smell in the air. And it was cold, very cold.

First thought, he was in some kind of warehouse. Could he have possibly survived the attack? Was this some sort of dream? Had Rize dragged him to her to finish him off? Fortunately, as he sat up, his first question was answered.

He appeared to be lying in some sort of dirty hospital bed. The sheets were crusty and covered in blood – not his he hoped. Beside the bed stood an unwelcoming metal trolley piled with syringes, scissors, and surgical knives, among other things that one wouldn't want near their body. All around him was the similar scene – hospital bed, and the metal cart. There had to be at least fourteen others in the ward with him. Well, it seemed like a ward, perhaps not a ward he wanted to be in, but a hospital ward none the less. This must have meant he survived the attack. He was resting in some strange government hospital for sure. The government liked to keep the existence of Ghouls on the down-low, albeit they didn't do a very good job. They probably rushed him and Hide here whilst trying to cover up the Ghoul attack.

Hide, God, Kaneki felt a quiver in the pit of his stomach. He silently prayed that Hide was here somewhere. Somewhere in this mysterious hospital. He could go find him – he supposed. It would be better than lying in a gross bed festering in his own blood and fluids.

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed was hard enough. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. There was a large, bulky, bandage wrapped around his waist, although Kaneki couldn't bring himself to look beneath it. He couldn't remember much, but he knew that Rize had made a right mess of him, and he certainly didn't feel like seeing a bare intestine at this moment.

As Kaneki stepped down, his sneakers crunching on broken glass, he considered all of the sanitary hygiene rules that were being abused here. Unmade beds, uncovered syringes, no doctors or nurses to be seen. Not mention the fact that he was the only one in the entire place. He couldn't hear anyone else. If his suspicions were correct, and this was a government hospital to treat Ghoul attack victims, there should be many more people. Ghoul attacks weren't that uncommon – unfortunately.

Kaneki sniffed. As the air filtered through his nostrils, a wave of nausea passed over him. It stank, to be blunt. The smell of blood was so strong that he briefly checked himself any cuts or scrapes. He pulled at the bandage around his waist but, no, better to leave that alone.

As he walked over broken glass, dead leaves, and the occasional cockroach, he observed his surroundings. There were at least five other wards in this corridor, all the same as the one he had woke up in. He could see the end of the corridor, but each step he took sent a searing pain to his side. This corridor seemed to be going on forever. Would it ever end?

Yes, as a matter of fact, it would. Two separate hallways stretched out before Kaneki. One led right, one led left. Left, right, left, right, left, right. In the movies the characters always went left. But, to be fair, in the movies the characters always died. He half expected some sort of monster to emerge from one of the tunnels and engulf him.

On the subject of monsters, he wondered where Rize had gone. He had seen no sign of her. Before he had blacked out she was eating him, that was for sure. What a gruesome thought. He understood that ghouls had nothing else to eat except humans, but please, have some dignity. Eat the dead, perhaps. Alive or not, human meat was human. Besides, he doubted he tasted all that good anyway.

But back to the matter at hand – right, or left? There was no logical way of figuring out which way was the most efficient. He didn't know the typical layout of a hospital – not that this hospital was typical at all. He wanted to find an exit, but there were no signs indicating for one. And Hide, he had to find him – if he was even here. If he wasn't, well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

Kaneki squinted his eyes. He took the left path. It looked lighter. His limited knowledge of survival by binge watching horror movies with Hide told him that dark was a big no-no. He sighed. He'd been sighing a lot lately. Whether at home, in class, or – you know – in mysterious hospitals after being ripped apart by a ghoul, he was always sighing. Maybe he was depressed. He never really looked forward the day ahead. It was the same old thing: class, studying, and sleeping. Well, at least this was change to the usual routine.

The hallway was getting darker. Perhaps it wasn't such a great idea to take the left path. The footsteps coming up behind him were also unsettling. Kaneki's shoulders tensed, he clenched his fists, and waited. Someone was running towards him, running _after_ him. He sighed. There he was, sighing again. And there he also was, walking through the hallways of a cryptic hospital – if it even was a hospital. He'd been torn to pieces by a ghoul; he'd woken up in a strange place bandaged, bruised, and with a dull burning sensation in his stomach; and he'd seen his friend bloodied and half dead. It was safe to say the day wasn't going so well for him.

"Kaneki!"

That voice, it was familiar. He knew in the back of his mind who it was, but the name was refusing to come forward. Damn it, his brain was fuzzy. Probably the after effects of – you know – being EATEN ALIVE. He shook his head and allowed himself a small smile. Eaten alive, that would be an interesting story to tell; granted, of course, if he ever got out of this place.

"Kaneki!"

Maybe it wasn't a voice. Sure, it sounded familiar, but he had been through a great amount of stress as of late. This 'voice' could be simply a hallucination. However, he just couldn't shake the feeling that he knew this voice somehow.

"Kaneki! Is that you?"

He could hear the voice getting louder. Quick, Kaneki, think. What friends do you have? Not many, to be fair… Acquaintances perhaps? Nope, he couldn't think of any. Was he missing someone?

Hide.

Kaneki turned. Please be Hide, please be Hide, please be Hide. God knows what he would do if it were someone, or something, else. He squinted his eyes get a better look of the figure approaching him. They walked with a limp, and Kaneki could hear them grunting with each step. They held some sort of wound on their neck. But there was no mistaking that tangled mop of blonde hair.

"Hide!"

Kaneki stumbled towards his friend. As the darkness cleared he caught a glimpse of the mess Hide was in. His face was pale, and his eyes were vacant. Blood covered one half of his face, yet he was still smiling. They embraced. It was a fumbled, uncomfortable embrace, with pain on both sides, but Kaneki doubted he would ever forget it.

"I thought I was alone in this place." Hide's voice shook as he spoke. "I'm glad I found you; even though you _were_ late for pizza night."

Kaneki let out a chuckle. He couldn't believe he was laughing in a situation like this. "Aren't you glad I turned up in the nick of time to save your ass?"

"Save my ass?" Hide was laughing too. "Look at yourself. You're chewed up more than me!"

"Well, I tried to save you. It's the thought that counts."

"You weren't giving me a birthday gift. You were supposed to save me from being eaten alive."

"Well, I…"

"KEN KANEKI, AND NAGACHIKA HIDEYOSHI PLEASE PROCEED TO THE WAITING ROOM."

The voice was loud and echoed through the corridor. The were no speakers near, as far as Kaneki could see. Where did it come from?

"There's a waiting room?" Kaneki muttered. "What will we be waiting for?"

"HEAD STRAIGHT AND TAKE THE FIRST RIGHT. REFRAIN FROM EXITING. WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE CALLED."

Kaneki and Hide walked forward. Kaneki would like to say he trusted the mysterious voice, but as he walked his felt his stomach sink lower and lower. Or maybe that wasn't just a feeling, since he wouldn't be surprised if his organs were ready to fall out of him.

The waiting room was pretty average. Kaneki assumed that, upon entering, they would be strapped to some metal chairs and would await the inevitable torture in pure terror. That didn't happen, much to his relief. The room was empty, save for two red chairs placed in the middle. The floor tiles resembled a large chessboard and the bright wight walls caused Kaneki's head to hurt.

As they approached the chairs, Kaneki saw that they were not actually red, but white. He had a fairly certain idea where the red had come from, but how there was so much splattered over just two chairs he had no idea. Kaneki looked at Hide. His brow was furrowed, as if the decision whether or not to sit was causing him considerable brainpower. Kaneki placed a hand on his friends shoulder - the not-ripped-to-shreds-completely side.

And together, they sat.

**Thanks for reading guys! And thank you for the reviews! :)**

**xxx**


	3. Appointment Pt1

Chapter 3 - Appointment Part. 1

The wait was a brief one, and one Kaneki relished. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious before, but he felt like he hadn't slept in days. The temptation to close his eyes and have a nap - just a quick one - was so strong. Kaneki imagined himself back in his bed, sleeping soundly. No, not soundly. He would most likely be tossing and turning in a mixture of boredom and anxiety. He used to think university life was so hard. _Used _to, as now he was itching to get back to his home. He would welcome fifty assignments due tomorrow with open arms if it meant getting out of this place in one piece.

"KEN KANEKI, AND NAGACHIKA HIDEYOSHI, PLEASE REPORT TO THE CONSULTATION ROOM."

"Consultation room?" Hide combed his fingers through his hair. "It's like they expect us to know where everything is in this place."

Kaneki pointed to a black door. Above it was a sign reading 'CONSULTATION ROOM'. Or at least that was what it was supposed to say. Several of the letters had fallen off resulting in a room labeled 'C N LTATION RO M". It was barely readable.

Hide's shoulders sagged. "Always the smart one, eh Kaneki?" He let out a small laugh. It was nice, to hear him laugh. Hide could always do that; bring light to the most awful of situations. And, Kaneki assured himself, this was pretty awful. He envied Hide's natural ability to be so carefree. He was always so energetic whereas Kaneki was just, well, not. Kaneki had never been able to quite tap into his laid-back side, if that side of him even existed.

The consultation room was pretty dark, and before Kaneki even knew what was happening, he was on the floor. He must have tripped on something. That was just like him, to fall flat on his face (literally) at a time like this. Not only was he half dead, now he had an added concussion.

"Kaneki!" Hide was by his side immediately, helping him to his feet. "This place is dark, you have to be careful."

"Please," The voice was loud and disembodied in the darkness. "Take a seat."

As Kaneki sat down he tried to get a look at the person addressing them. But, as much as he squinted and craned his neck, he couldn't see beyond the gloom. Whatever it was, Kaneki couldn't bring himself to believe that it could possibly be human.

It was quiet for a long while, with only the whisper of wind to silence the dull ringing in Kaneki's ears. Maybe it was the quietness that caused his ears to feel like they were going to burst, maybe it was the concussion. It was probably the concussion.

The figure sat across from them coughed. Most likely to bring attention to itself. That, or it had an itchy throat. It was cough season. Kaneki remembered a time when he had a cough so bad that he felt like his lungs were going to eject themselves from his chest. They didn't, thankfully. That would have made for an interesting conversation.

The figure coughed again. Ah, right, attention.

Kaneki and Hide looked towards the void of darkness.

"Ken Kaneki and Nagachika Hideyoshi. Diagnosis: dead."

**A shorter chapter today, because I wanted to leave it on a cliff hanger. **

**Thanks for reading!**

**xxx**


	4. Appointment Pt2

Chapter 4 - Appointment Part. 2

"Excuse me?"

Hide was the first to react. He was up and out of his seat in an instant spouting curse words and all else. He would likely be saying something along the lines of: "What the fuck are you talking about?" Or: "Who the Hell do you think you are?" Or perhaps: "We've been through enough already, can't you see? Now isn't the time for shitty tricks like this!"

Kaneki let out a small sigh. He pressed his hand against his stomach, and winced as he felt the dull pain in his gut grow stronger. Could it be? Kaneki wasn't one to underestimate the power of ghouls. They were monsters, after all. How was it plausible that even _one_ of them had survived the attack, let alone both of them? And with such a powerful ghoul as Rize… Kaneki closed his eyes and tried to remember back to the attack, back to pizza night.

He had returned home to find Hide tied to a chair with a bite in his neck. No, scratch that, bite was an understatement, his entire oesophagus had been ripped out. No way he could of survived that. Maybe he didn't die at first, but he would have surely bled out after a while. And himself: broken neck, twisted spine, several deep flesh wounds. That was only before he had blacked out. He couldn't be certain, but he could only guess what Rize had done to him. And then they had both awoken, in a abandoned hospital no less. Maybe this was one elaborate hallucination. A daydream. A death dream.

Kaneki wondered, if they were dead, what had become of their corpses. Were the devoured by Rize completely, or had they been whisked away by the government. News of ghoul attacks spread fast. They would no doubt be plastered on every newspaper in Tokyo by now. And who had found them? He doubted that was a pleasant sight. Perhaps that person was now in therapy. Perhaps it sparked no emotion in them at all. Or perhaps they had never been found. In fact, they were most likely still rotting away in Hide's apartment. The smell must have been awful.

"Kaneki, Kaneki?" Hide had taken him by the shoulders and was shaking him softly. "Do believe this?"

Kaneki stayed silent.

"Where we are now is a place called Purgatory. It where the dead wait for judgement." The voice kept a level tone; it was soothing.

Hide scoffed. "You expect us to believe that? What is this, some kind of prank? It has to be, this is ridiculous."

"You are dead, and residing in Purgatory whilst I decide what to do with you."

The voice paused.

"However, there is a way to reverse what has happened to you."

Kaneki raised his head, and heard Hide draw a solitary breath. A way to reverse death? That couldn't be possible, right? He coughed. He hadn't spoken to the voice until now, and he could only mutter a single word. "How?"

"It won't be easy, you will have to go to great lengths to recover your lives. There will be three trials. You complete them, your lives are returned to you, if not, you remain here."

Hide stamped his foot firmly upon the ground he cocked his head. "This sounds mystical and all, but how do we know your telling the truth?" As he stood with his hands on his hips, Kaneki felt pride swell in his chest. Hide always seemed to be his backbone. Here he was, standing up to some sort of terrifying gate-keeper of death. It probably wasn't a wise idea, but it was admirable nonetheless.

There was a noise in the darkness, like the voice was shifting it's position. "There is a specific time for every human to die. It is decided when you are born, a date of death, if you will. However, like every system, something is bound to go wrong. I will not disclose too much information to you, but your deaths were premature. You are being given a chance to redeem your lives. Do you take this opportunity."

Without knowing, Kaneki rose to his feet. He now stood with Hide, his friend, his friend who deserved life - whatever the cost. "We'll take it."

**I hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for reading!**

**xxx**


	5. The Trail Of The Brain

Chapter 5 - The Trial Of The Brain

The task was simple, simple enough. Just follow the arrows to the exit. That's what the podium in front of the Hide and Kaneki told them.

After agreeing to the trials, the boys had waited once again. They sat in the same darkened waiting room, on the same bloodstained chairs, listening to the same silence. But something felt different, lighter. There was hope. They had a chance of getting out of wherever the Hell they were. Sure it wasn't going to be easy, but they had to take the chance. Besides, they had already been through a lot.

They now stood against the wall of a large room. Arrows decorated the floor, and in the low light a door could be seen at the other end of the room. The exit. Or, you know, a doorway to the depths of oblivion. But an exit seemed like a more plausible idea.

In front of them, stood a wooden podium. Carved into the wood it said: "Follow the arrows to the exit. Do not stray from the path."

Hide shifted from foot-to-foot, visibly uncomfortable. "I really don't want to be the guy to ask this." He brushed his hand through his hair. "But, who's going to go first? We shouldn't go together, it might cause us to stray from the path, or whatever."

Kaneki picked at the bandage around his waist. He didn't want to go first, who would? There was no doubt that something bad would happen. They were in some sort of Purgatory, they were dead, and they were taking part in dangerous trials. He wanted to think things couldn't get worse, but he had been proven wrong so far. Maybe some people would enjoy this level of danger - an adrenaline rush. Kaneki was not one of those people. He did have a suggestion, though the level of fairness was debatable.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Kaneki asked.

They held up their fists.

Rock.

Paper.

Scissors.

Kaneki: Paper. Hide: Rock.

Damn it, Hide cursed under his breath. He let his head drop to his chest in defeat. Well, it wasn't as if he had much to lose anyway. His life, sure, but hadn't he technically lost that already?

The arrows lead Hide in a straight direction, right up to the exit. Hide would be lying if he said he wasn't terrified as he walked. Each step sent his nerves into overdrive. He could feel sweat beading on how brow. This was easy, too easy.

When he reached the exit he felt ready to collapse. Okay, that went better than expected. Now he just had to wait for Kaneki. He beckoned to his friend, who nodded in return.

Kaneki took a cautious step onto the first arrow. He couldn't mess up, Hide had managed it just fine. He hadn't been crushed, and he hadn't exploded. That was promising. What he had to do was simple, very simple, very-

"Kaneki?"

Kaneki stopped. The voice was coming from his left. He recognised it, and with a mixture of horror and dread washing over him he turned around.

His mother, there she stood. Her soft features, the smile lines around her mouth. Except she wasn't smiling, a frown was painted across her face. And why would she be smiling? She was dead. She had died from overworking when he was 10. And now she was here.

Perhaps… had she been here all this time? Had she been in Purgatory? Kaneki had only been here a day, but years in this nightmare; what would that do to you? Maybe she was waiting for him.

"Kaneki." She sounded fragile. She looked like a ghost - an empty shell of what she once was. Kaneki could feel his eyes water. "Kaneki, come with me, come hold my hand, I've missed you."

"Kaneki?" Hide's voice seemed very distant. Kaneki couldn't turn his head away from his mother. "What are you waiting for? You shouldn't stand there something might happen."

Kaneki's couldn't, he was reaching out to his mother's outstretched hand. A subconscious energy was pulling him towards her. Soon he would set foot off the arrow he stood on.

"Do not stray from the path." It was a clear instruction. Something awful was sure to happen if he didn't follow the arrows like he had been set to do. But something about the way his mother appeared, so broken, so small, made him want to hold onto her - like he was a child once more. He had to get to Hide, but his mother was beckoning for him. Was she even real?

Yes, Kaneki thought. Was she even real?

He closed his eyes. It couldn't be possible. Why would his mother be here? She wasn't like him or Hide - she hadn't been ripped apart by a ghoul, died a horrible death. She had just faded away.

Something had to be messing with his head. Come to think of it, the smoke now swirling around his legs hadn't been there when Hide crossed. It must have been some kind of gas, and breathing it in was causing hallucinations. That had to be it, it had to be. His head felt fuzzy, but he knew what was important - he had to follow the arrows. He had to get to Hide. But first, he would say goodbye. He didn't care if she wasn't real - he just wanted to be able to say it. He looked up.

And she wasn't there.

Well, at least that saved the sad goodbyes. With his head feeling clearer, he headed towards the exit. Perhaps… No, he was sure she couldn't be real. It was some kind of test to see if he would stray from the path. If he had- But he hadn't, best not to ponder one the dangers.

"Kaneki!" He was met with a quick embrace. He could feel Hide shaking. "You really scared me. You were stood there, staring at nothing."

So Hide hadn't seen his mother. That proved it - it was all in his head. But something felt wrong, something felt misplaced. Before he had time to grasp what was happening, Kaneki dropped to his knees. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and his shoulders shook as ugly sobs erupted from his throat. He couldn't understand. He really wasn't much of a cryer, and was never too eager to showcase his emotions.

A warm hand on his shoulder helped stifle his cries. Kaneki motioned to Hide to step away. He slowly rose to his feet.

"No, it'll pass." He said, his voice thick. "I'll be fine."

His stomach churned. One task down, only two to go.

**Two chapters in one day! I hope you all enjoyed!**

**xxx**


	6. The Trial Of The Brawn

Chapter 6 - The Trial Of The Brawn

"Run. Don't get eaten." Hide scooped a clump of hair into his hands and twirled it round his fingers - a look of deep concern on his face.

They stood at another podium, which marked the beginning of yet a dark hallway. Except this one was longer. Kaneki couldn't see a door - screw that, he couldn't see anything. The corridor was near pitch black.

"It's all very well telling us to run, but please, have some common courtesy and at least tell us where we're running." Hide stomped his foot. He couldn't lie, he'd reached the end of his tether. This whole situation was ridiculous. And he bet his pizza was cold. To think, he'd been through so much, and when he got out alive - if getting out alive was even an option - he'd be greeted by… cold pizza.

Kaneki tilted his head and thought. "The obvious thing would be to run straight until we can reach an exit." He let out a sigh. "But, it could be a trap."

"So what the Hell are we supposed to do?" Hide rubbed the back of his neck, and immediately brushed against his wound. He winced. Oh, right; he had been eaten alive by a ghoul. How had he managed to forget that?

As the two stood looking into the darkness, the sound of footsteps came to their attention. It sounded not quite like a crash, not quite a patter, more like a clicking noise. It was a noise that sent a shiver down Kaneki's spine, and made Hide instinctively hunch his shoulders.

It was the sound of insects.

No, not insects. Insect. Just one. And, by the sound of it, it had a heck of a lot more legs than six.

Kaneki turned around. He didn't want to, and when he saw what was coming towards them, he thought of turning around and pretending he hadn't seen it.

'It' was a very large millipede-like creature. Very large as in, the length of several buses, and possibly a football pitch for good measure. Millipede-like as in, it looked like one, but flatter and bigger. Bigger as in, well, it was big. Big in all-caps. BIG.

Kaneki's knees suddenly felt very weak. But, when Hide grabbed him by the arm and yelled to run, Kaneki had no problem following his friend's lead.

So they ran. Kaneki had never ran with anyone before. He wasn't a stellar athlete, and was usually left in the dust clouds of his schoolmates in sports class Often, in romantic films, the couple would run off into the sunset together. Safe to say, in the darkness of purgatory being pursued by a horrific monster, Kaneki couldn't feel the romantic spark. Running from monsters - not really an appropriate date night idea.

But, in the midst of his terror, Kaneki could feel a sense of freedom. If you've ever ran a long distance, with no stopping and no interruptions (except for the giant monster, but we'll forget about that for now), then you'll recognise that there is a feeling of freedom. It's like you are excused from all your problems and you only know the pumping of your heart, and the wind in your ears.

And then, naturally, Kaneki tripped.

Of course he had to trip. He was like that one character in a horror movie - the one who is always getting captured, trapped, and the one who is always falling over. But now was not the time to be feeling pathetic, now was the time for action - action being of course the simple task of getting back onto his feet. Hopefully he hadn't twisted his ankle or broken a bone but, with his luck, he wouldn't be surprised if he had.

Fortunately, Kaneki was able to get running again, but he knew that thing as catching up. He could practically feeling it nipping at his heels. He knew he couldn't look back, he didn't want to look back. Just a quick peek…

Oh dear, he was screwed.

Wow, that thing had picked up the pace big time. It was less than a metre away from him. He knew he would never catch up to Hide, and with a sinking feeling he knew that he would soon be unable to outrun the creature. Then an idea came to mind.

Was it a good idea? Well, no, not really. In fact, it could be classed as an terrible idea. Kaneki shook his head, he didn't have a choice - he had already died once, he could do it again. Kaneki jumped.

He landed unsteadily on the back of the creature, somewhere near the head. Or not. Did this thing even have a head? He proceeded to run again, on top of giant millipede monster, in Purgatory. This would go down as one of the strangest thing he'd ever done, for sure.

It's just like a treadmill, just like a treadmill. He thought to himself. The podium had instructed them to run, it hadn't specified what they could run on. Now he just had to make sure he didn't fall off. Easier said than done.

Gradually, Kaneki could see the outline of a door. Thank God, there was the exit. Right, now for the tricky part. He had gotten onto to this thing, now he had to find a way off it, and get through the door without being killed. Like before, easier said than done.

Kaneki slowed his pace and stepped carefully further down the creature's back. The door was open, presumably Hide had left it that way on purpose. He would run full speed over the creature and leap through the door. That was a solid, fool-proof plan right there.

Kaneki steadied himself and prepared for flight - for want of a better word. He felt like he was on top of a running train, except trains don't want to eat you. This thing did. And if any trains have tried to eat anyone in the past, Kaneki was unaware. He counted in his head: five, four, three, two, one, run. Dammit, his legs were tired, but there was no time for slacking. Just run, line up the trajectory, and jump.

Hide sat on the floor. His legs felt like jelly, his head was killing him, and the wound on his neck throbbed. He just wanted to close his eyes and- OW. Kaneki was now sprawled on top of him. He must of jumped through the doorway at the last second. The creature was nowhere to be seen, that was a plus. Was that the end of the second trial? It had to be. If it wasn't, well consider Hideyoshi Nagachika dead meat, as he sure as Hell wasn't running anymore.

"Kaneki," Hide said, shifting from underneath his friend.

"Hmm?" Kaneki replied, his head was on the dirt floor but he didn't care. He was alive. Maybe he should make awful plans more often.

Hide sighed. Everything hurt, and he felt like shit, but at least he wasn't a millipede-beast's next meal. "Next time, when something is telling us to run, lets actually run."

**Thanks for reading! I feel like I need to get to know you readers/guys more, who's your favourite Tokyo Ghoul character? Mine is Nishiki, but Hide is so precious.**

**xxx**


	7. The Trial Of The Heart

Chapter 7 - The Trial Of The Heart

The last trial, the one that would determine whether they lived or remained trapped in Purgatory. It was a matter of life or death. And it was all up to Kaneki.

"A challenge for the first to die.  
Choose your fate."

Kaneki knew he was the first to die, he had heard Hide screaming his name as he felt his life drain away. What a thought, Hide, his only friend, had seen him die. Nice.

"Choose your fate," Kaneki drew his breath. "What could that mean?"

"I think I have a fairly sure idea." Hide pointed towards two raised platforms. One labeled 'Kaneki leaves, Hide remains', the other 'Hide leaves, Kaneki remains'.

Oh marvellous, Kaneki thought. He was going to have to choose. He hated decisions at the best of times, but now he had to decide whether he or his best friend would leave this nightmare. He turned to Hide, who shook his head solemnly.

"I don't think I can help you, Kaneki." He said. "This one's on you."

How the Hell was he so nonchalant about this situation? Leave it to Hide to make Kaneki seem like even more of quivering pile of nerves than he already was.

Kaneki's head dropped to his chest, and he started to think. He didn't want to die. Die permanently, of course, he'd already accomplished being killed temporarily. He didn't want to stay in Purgatory. And why should he? He'd never done anything to hurt anyone, he didn't deserve this. Maybe he'd done something in a past life to cause this, maybe he was being punished, or maybe it was just typical of his luck to trapped here.

But, Hide. He was his best friend, scratch that, his only friend. If anyone deserved to get out of here, it was him. Hide had gotten through the trails with ease, if this was the competition Hide was the clear winner. But this wasn't a competition, this was dangerous task.

Kaneki suddenly became aware of how much power he had. All his life he had allowed himself to be stepped on just to make others feel happy and comfortable, but now, now he could take matters into his own hands. He could get out of here and return to his normal life, with barely a scratch by just stepping on a platform. But, by just stepping on a platform, he could also condemn his friend to an eternity of pain and sadness.

Kaneki clenched his fists, he knew what he was going to do.

'Hide leaves, Kaneki remains". That's what the platform said, that's where Kaneki.

"Kaneki, you can't do this. Get yourself out of this place, leave me here." Hide's face was twisted in shock and fear. Kaneki was surprised to see him crying. Why was he crying? He wasn't the one staying here.

Kaneki sighed, how clueless he was. Hide was crying because he cared about Kaneki. He wasn't used to people caring so much for him, his parents had died when he was young and he never had any friends. Sure, Hide could be loud, he was opposite to Kaneki is almost every way, and he was always wearing those damn headphones; but, deep down, he cared for Kaneki when everyone else seemed to ignore him. But Kaneki couldn't save himself, he had to let Hide go.

Kaneki planted his feet firmly on the platform. This was where he stood, this was where he stayed.

A loud click sounded through the room as a door revealed itself. Hide could go, Hide could get back to normal life and do, well, normal life stuff. So why wasn't he moving? Oh, yeah, because of Kaneki. He wanted them to go together, but that wasn't possible.

Hide stood still. He saw the doorway, he saw the chance of life and freedom in front of him. But he couldn't, he never forgive himself if he left Kaneki like this. Kaneki was his friend, like a brother to him, he couldn't leave him in this place. He couldn't do that to anybody.

Kaneki blinked. He felt himself growing dizzy. His hear pumped rapidly, black dots clouding his vision. Was this dying, like, for-real dying? It wasn't as painful as he expected. It was rather peaceful, in a macabre way. And then Kaneki fell; fell into a familiar darkness.

**Thanks for reading! And thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favourited, and followed! **

**xxx**


	8. Back Where We Started

Chapter 8 - Back Where We Started

"Kaneki…?"

"Yeah? What?" Kaneki blinked, and tried to get used to his surroundings. It was warm day, with light streaming through the windows of a the coffee shop they sat in in… Tokyo? Yeah, Tokyo, that's where he lived. His brain felt fuzzy.

Hide was looking at him, his eyebrows knitted in concerned, yet his mouth was pulled into a small smirk. "Nearly lost you there, you spaced out."

Kaneki shook his head. He sat in that coffee shop, the one him and Hide often came, the day was beautiful, but something felt wrong. He couldn't quite place it, but he felt like he should be remembering something important. And his stomach hurt, like he'd cut himself.

"Just make sure your class doesn't run late this time." Hide was playing with a napkin, making a swan.

"Why?" Kaneki ran a hand through his hair, it felt greasy. Gross, when was the last time he had a shower?

"Because," Hide crumpled the swan in his hand. "It's pizza night tonight, and I for one am not looking forward to eating it cold. It's Pacific Rim tonight, you like that film right?"

Pacific Rim. Kaneki became acutely aware that a shopping leant against his leg. Pacific Rim. He must have bought it just earlier, but he couldn't remember.

And then she walked in. That gorgeous hair, those beautiful eyes, that button nose. Rize Kamishiro - she was cute.

"Hey," Hide kicked Kaneki under the table. Had that scar on his neck always been there. "If you like her so much, ask her out. Stare anymore, and your eyes'll pop out."

Kaneki averted his gaze. He liked her, but, something felt off about her. Or maybe he was just nervous. Should he ask her out? "Maybe, he said. "I might."

"Eh, a partner might be good for you Kaneki." Hide shrugged, folding the swan again.

Kaneki snorted. "That's something coming from someone who's only romantic attachment appears to be to pizza."

"I'll have you know, pizza is a gift."

Kaneki shook his head in disbelief. He smiled. Note to self: pizza night, don't be late.

**The final chapter! It's only a short one, but I would like to that everyone for reading, reviewing, favouriting etc. I really appreciate it. I hope you have enjoyed this fanfiction. Thanks for reading! :)**


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